"The Lessons of SayNo" (direct translation), penned by an anonymous writer who goes by the pseudonym SayNo, achieved an impressive 20 consecutive week reign at the top spot in the weekly bestseller rankings of Kyobo Book Center, as of Thursday. Since its release on March 2, the book has been a top-selling title, dominating the bestseller list for the first half of the year. Although it briefly relinquished the top spot to “A Study of Science by Liberal Arts Man” by former h

“For those who are looking for ‘home’ even if there is ‘house,’” Lee So-ho writes in the dedication to her third and latest poetry collection, “Home Sweet Home.” Lee describes the collection as "poetry of the outsider.” “I often see myself as a stranger, an outsider even within my own family. People do have moments when they feel like they don’t belong in their own homes. This sense of alienation and marginalization is the co

Must-read canonical Korean short stories are now available in English through "The Penguin Book of Korean Short Stories," part of the Penguin Classics collection. The anthology, co-curated and edited by Bruce Fulton, a translator and professor of Korean Literature and Literary Translation at the University of British Columbia, marks a milestone as the first collection of Korean literature to join the esteemed Penguin Classics series. The book is described as an “eclectic, moving

South Korean poet Kim Hye-soon is to give a poetry reading at Harvard University in October. Kim has been invited to the T. S. Eliot Memorial Reading event at the Woodberry Poetry Room in Harvard University’s Lamont Library on Oct. 2, according to Moonji Publishing on Wednesday. The English edition of Kim's 13th volume of poems, “Phantom Pain Wings,” was published in the US by New Directions Publishing in May. The original Korean edition of the collection of 72 poems was p

Ministry questions possible collusion, Korean Publishers Association demands minister’s dismissal

The organizer of the Seoul International Book Fair allegedly did not disclose breakdowns of its earnings from the fair since 2018, the culture minister said Monday. Minister Park Bo-gyoon also accused the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea, a public institution under the ministry that oversees distribution and use of government subsidies to the fair organizer, of lax supervision. The Korean Publishers Association, the organizer of the annual book fair, failed to provide detailed info

Naver Webtoon’s "Lore Olympus" notched its second win at the Eisner Awards on Sunday. At the award's 35th edition held at San Diego Comic-Con International, “Lore Olympus” was selected as the winner of the Best Webcomic prize, according to Naver Webtoon, the tech giant’s digital comics platform. Named after Will Eisner, a pioneer in the American comic book industry, the Eisner Awards are regarded as the Oscars for comic books in North America. “Lore O

"The Tidal Future" By Seo Yoon-bin Hubble Seo Yoon-bin, who won the grand prize at the Fifth Korean Science Literature Award for medium-length and short stories last year, has published his first collection of short stories, "The Tidal Future." As an emerging and promising young sci-fi writer, Seo has captured considerable attention after securing the prize previously won by notable figures in the genre like Kim Cho-yeop and Cheon Seon-ran. In his award-winning short story, &

"The Training" (working title) By Jang Ryu-jin Changbi Publishers Jang Ryu-jin's latest compilation of six short stories titled “The Training” makes for a delightful reading experience with its fast-paced plot and witty dialogue. Jang’s second collection follows in the footsteps of her first work, “The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work” (2018), offering a lighthearted consolation to young individuals worn out by the daily grind. As one of the leading youn

"The Weight of 1 Gram" By Yim Jae-hun Book Recipe The novel “The Weight of 1 Gram” is based on the true story of a former drug dealer. Having served four years in prison for drug dealing in Cambodia in 2018, Yim Jae-hun reflects on his past as he shares his penitential journey. The book also serves as a warning call to address the grave dangers of drugs that plague our society. Seduced by the promise of a quick fortune, the narrator nicknamed “Baksa” (meaning &l

The decision to make a television adaptation of his 2016 Pulitzer-winning novel "The Sympathizer” was a double joy for Vietnamese American writer Viet Thanh Nguyen. “It's a thrill for any writer to have their book adapted to the screen, and in my case, a particular thrill because I'm very excited to be working with Park Chan-wook, whose work I've greatly admired even before I wrote the novel,” Nguyen said in an interview with The Korea Herald in June. Powere

Jeju-born writer Hyun Ki-young said he penned his three-volume novel, “Oh, Jejudo,” as an homage to the spirits of the April 3 Incident. On April 3, 1948, when Hyun was 6 years old, Jeju islanders began protesting against US military-led rule after Korea's liberation from Japan's colonial rule (1910-1945). The then-government distorted the uprising as a communist riot and brutally massacred an estimated 30,000 civilians, roughly 10 percent of the island's population, i

The popular web novel “Under the Oak Tree” by Kim Su-ji is set to make its official debut in print in English, announced the Ridi Corp. on Tuesday. The digital content platform company has signed worldwide English publishing rights of the web novel and webtoon with Penguin Random House. The first volume of the English version is scheduled to hit bookshelves in the second half of 2024, followed by the release of e-books and audiobooks. When asked about the translator and the potential

The number of books translated and published into Korean for local readers decreased last year, but Japanese titles maintained their popularity, data from the Korean Publishers Association showed on Wednesday. According to the KPA's annual "Korean Publication Yearbook," the number of foreign books translated and published in Korean for the domestic market last year was 10,472, a decrease of 14.2 percent compared to the previous year's total of 12,210. Out of 10,472 translated

Much like how global warming gradually alters the climate over time, and war and terrorism stem from a series of political incidents in the competition for power, the prominent social challenges we encounter today are results of "silent transformations." So says French philosopher Francois Jullien, who used the concept as the title of his book. In "The Silent Transformations," originally published in French in 2009 and recently translated into Korean, the French scholar explo